Students are usually haunted by “What next?” after completion of 10+2. With diverse fields of study and career opportunities, it is pretty hard to decide a career path. A government Job in general and Civil Services, in particular, is an attractive career opportunity due to the kind of opportunities one is offered and the highly respected nature of the post itself. It gives the person the privilege to work for the society and betterment of the nation. The exposure provides a great scope for overall development of self at the same time enhances one’s self-esteem. A civil servant gets to work in the fields of rural development, taxation, social welfare, policy implementation etc. based on the choice of service.Read-How to become an IAS officer?

The Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission is one of the most challenging exams in the country. The examination is divided into three stages i.e, the Preliminary examination, the Mains examination and the Personal Interview. Only those aspirants who are graduates from recognized universities are eligible to take up the examination. The IAS age limit is 21 years, i.e, no candidate below the age of 21 years would be allowed to take up the examination. There is no right time to begin your preparation. The earlier you start the preparation, the better it is. Since the UPSC syllabus is vast, the college-going students can start their preparation along with their graduation course so that the preparation strategy can be spread over 2 – 3 years, leaving ample time for revision before the examination. Here are a few tips for college students preparing for the most prestigious exam while completing their graduation.DO’s
⦁Get to know about the exam:
Before you begin your preparation, spend some time on understanding the requirements of the examination. Go through the UPSC notification to understand in detail, the eligibility criteria, the requirements, the UPSC syllabus etc. Also, read about the various services that you could opt for after clearing the exam.

0.Make Newspaper reading, a habit:
The newspaper is the Bible for UPSC aspirants. The importance of current affairs and newspaper reading in UPSC preparation cannot be emphasized enough. Hence, the aspirants must start reading the newspaper and make themselves aware of the current happenings. An aspirant must learn to differentiate between general news and the news that is important for UPSC preparation. In the initial stage, have a copy of the syllabus with you while reading the newspaper. Eventually, you will be able to pick and choose the news and the facts that are important for preparation.

0.Start reading NCERT books:NCERT books help the UPSC aspirants in building a strong foundation for further preparation. The aspirants can kick-start their preparation by reading class 6 to class 10 Geography, History, Political Science and Economy NCERT books. One reading of all the NCERT books would suffice at this stage.

0.Go through some basic books essential for the preparation:
There are certain basic books that every aspirant goes through. Though there is no standard book list, you can make a booklist according to your needs and start reading those books once you have completed reading the NCERT books.

0.Watch TV debates and make good use of the internet for preparation:
Since you have a lot of time on hand, Watch Rajya Sabha TV debates news channels, etc. This will help you build perspectives on various issues. You can also follow the websites dedicated to UPSC Civil Service Preparation. By doing this, you will get a fair idea of the demands of the examination and the kind of questions that can be asked by the UPSC. For conceptual clarity, while reading the NCERT and Basic books, you can watch subject specific YouTube videos.